How rich is too rich?

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Addy

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@Jay Ross Oh my goodness... I had no idea the saying meant something... I am so sorry if it came across as me MOCKING.... as that was not my intention... I simply like the way it sounds.... What are you going to do today ??? Well... I thought I might like to consider my belly button...
I am special sometimes... LOL... the simple things amuse me. Thank you for explaining this to me.
 

marksman

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Whether this comes under money and riches I am not quite sure but I would like to point out something that is very important.

In the first five years of our marriage, we had two little toddlers and during that time I lost my job and was out of work for several weeks. All I had was less than 20 English pounds a week of unemployment to live off. Despite this, my wife refused to go out to work because she wanted to look after the children. I eventually found another job and we got back to normality again.

Today, I hear time and time again that both parents have to go out to work fulltime because of the cost of living. Their cost of living is driven by their choices which are as follows... a big house; at least two new cars; overseas holidays; expensive clothes; golf club membership; meals out; sports equipment and membership; child care fees.

If they cut back on their expenditure they would not need to both work full time. A house that is not so big; two cars that are not new; no overseas holidays; not so expensive clothes; PAYG golf; cut down on meals out; limit sports expenditure; look after your own children. If they did that I guarantee their outgoings would be cut by half. And do you know what that would mean? Both parents will not need to go out to work full time.

And do you know what that would mean? No latch key kids coming home to an empty house which breeds a sense of abandonment and rejection.

Let me tell you about my son when he was a teenager. He would come home from school, dump his bag in his bedroom, go to the kitchen and open the fridge door and select what he was going to eat. He would cook it if needed, and then sit down and eat it and tell us about his day.

Once that task was accomplished he would go back to his room, get changed out of his school uniform, and then do whatever he wanted to do. End result. One happy boy.

You miss all that if you are both working full time. You have got one pent-up child who has no one to offload with. When you finally come home he is not going to talk because his talking is on his terms, not yours.

Anyone who puts their career or money before their children are asking for trouble apart from the fact they are disobeying the Lord because the word is very clear...bring up your own children, not let someone else do it. if you deliberately disobey the Lord don't expect him to shower you with blessings.
 

rockytopva

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I love motorcycles. If I had $50,000 I would be very tempted to but one of those Boss Hoss V8’s instead of putting it in ministry.

 

amadeus

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Just another silly thread by Josho. :p

How rich is too rich? Is there any such thing?

Is being rich wrong?

How much is too much?

If someone is rich should he or she buy more expensive items to support better paid workers and keep more people in well paid jobs?

Without rich people, would there be less donations to help out the poor? Would there be less people writing out a million dollar cheques to give to charity? Would there be more poverty around the world or less?

If the world didn't have rich people, would there be less money being printed out?

In Australia there seem to be getting more and more people hitting a net worth of a Million dollars, and the millionaire list is growing larger and larger, also home loans are growing, and some are going on 30 year plans to pay it off, but once paid of many will have a net worth of a million dollars. Also in some parts, farms can cost a million+, to get one.

In the UK there are many with a net worth of 10 million dollars +, and I have heard apartments sell for 15 million dollars +, even $20m in some parts of London.

Also in countries like the UK, Italy, France, I believe the price of keeping manufacturing in their own countries is going up. And it's definitely something I have a bit of understanding of, but not a total understanding of though, because I don't employ any people, but in Australia there are plenty of extra costs to employ someone.

But when it comes to product manufacturing, people need to pay their bills, pay for their materials, make a profit, and make a living out of doing it, which is what justifies a higher price for products in countries like UK, Canada, Australia.

And also the fact that not every business owner is a fan of the mass-production business model. :D
A person is too rich when what he has makes him take his eyes off of Jesus and like Peter then begins to sink into the water below!
 

marksman

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I have been doing a bit more digging and came up with some surprising information. Kenneth Copeland is not very well respected because of his wealth. He is reported to have a net worth of just over $600 million but.....I have found out that there are two African pastors who have a net worth of $1 billion. Would not surprise me if their congregation was trying to make ends meet. I have seen videos of their meetings and it is gimme, gimme, gimme. Both have private jets and one has about five million dollar cars.
 

GodsBeloved11

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Just another silly thread by Josho. :p

How rich is too rich? Is there any such thing?

Is being rich wrong?

How much is too much?

If someone is rich should he or she buy more expensive items to support better paid workers and keep more people in well paid jobs?

Without rich people, would there be less donations to help out the poor? Would there be less people writing out a million dollar cheques to give to charity? Would there be more poverty around the world or less?

If the world didn't have rich people, would there be less money being printed out?

In Australia there seem to be getting more and more people hitting a net worth of a Million dollars, and the millionaire list is growing larger and larger, also home loans are growing, and some are going on 30 year plans to pay it off, but once paid of many will have a net worth of a million dollars. Also in some parts, farms can cost a million+, to get one.

In the UK there are many with a net worth of 10 million dollars +, and I have heard apartments sell for 15 million dollars +, even $20m in some parts of London.

Also in countries like the UK, Italy, France, I believe the price of keeping manufacturing in their own countries is going up. And it's definitely something I have a bit of understanding of, but not a total understanding of though, because I don't employ any people, but in Australia there are plenty of extra costs to employ someone.

But when it comes to product manufacturing, people need to pay their bills, pay for their materials, make a profit, and make a living out of doing it, which is what justifies a higher price for products in countries like UK, Canada, Australia.

And also the fact that not every business owner is a fan of the mass-production business model. :D

Some are v rich

Some are comfortable

Some are struggling

Some are.destitute


Whichever we are, may we give glory to God and honour Him! We can all do that
 
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2ndRateMind

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Just another silly thread by Josho. :p

How rich is too rich? Is there any such thing?

Is being rich wrong?

How much is too much?...

It's not a silly question, at all. Jesus had a rather dusty attitude towards wealth, best exemplified by the parable of Lazerus the beggar*. However if we are to tackle the issue today, I believe the best approach is through economics, which is a field of knowledge Jesus had no access to.

A few years ago I did some back of an envelope calculations based on numbers by Credit Suisse. It seems there is enough wealth in the world to allow everyone on earth, man, woman and child, a net worth of some $33,000, and an income of around $27,000 per year. Multiply these figures by 4 for the standard Nato issue nuclear family. If you have more or earn more than this, you are hogging part or all someone else's fair share.

However, I would not advocate total equality. There could be no quicker way to trash an economy than to set a limit on people's ambition. And some jobs require rare talent and/or considerable length of study. These should be rewarded.

So I would suggest a half and half approach. That is that no one should take home in pay more than seven times the earnings of the lowest paid in society. If people want more than this, that's fine, but they would first need to contribute to addressing the plight of the poorest amongst us.

Best wishes, 2RM.

*Luke 16:19-31 KJV
 
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2ndRateMind

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But what about rich Christians?

My own suspicion is that you can either be rich, or Christian, but not both simultaneously, given a world in which so many hunger.

Best wishes, 2RM.
 
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Sabertooth

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...which is knowledge Jesus had no access to.
Really...?
full
 
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2ndRateMind

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'Fraid so. The idea of Jesus the man as omniscient, like our God who fathered Him, is just not consistent with scripture. The closest Jesus comes to a statement on the matter is to command us to love each other as ourselves. Given that love, no sacrifice is too great; without it, no sacrifice appears worthwhile.

Best wishes, 2RM.
 
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Truman

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Abraham was rich, and God is sovereign.
The sin of Sodom was that it had become arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned about it's poor neighbors.
I guess anyone can love.
’Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. - Ezekiel 16:49
 

marks

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But what about rich Christians?
My friend once said, it's good that there are rich people, so we can know them.

This was while we were on a men's retreat at their La Quita resort style second home, with many rooms, and the salt swimming pool. A wonderful weekend!

Much love!
 

marks

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@mjrhealth

As you can see in the OP, rich is not a choice for some, and they may actually need to be rich to be able to afford to live close to where they work.

And I am sure God has called people to live in London before. Haha
God planted my wife and I in a very expensive area, and we have a difficult time making ends meet. But He's always been faithful, and here we are still.

It's all up to Him. Material riches aren't really riches, they are candy to the unsaved, and bricks to the saved. We can enjoy our riches spent on our pleasures, or we can build eternal glory through them.

And even in my lack of riches I fall short on that!

Much love!
 
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marks

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Another question, do we need rich people to keep the national economy going well?
They need to have enough money to buy this building and fill it with machines and materials so I can work it all for them, on return for some of their money.

Much love!
 

Jay Ross

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Hello,

Many years ago, a wise young entrepreneur said to me: -

In every business, the first person that should be paid is the owner of the business, and the rest of the profit from the business should be given to his employees who created the increase in the return on his investment in the business. In other words, if the owner wanted a 20% return the money invested in a business, then that is all that he should take and the rest of the prophet should be the reward for the employees in that particular business and given to them to wisely use to distribute among themselves as their wages and to also expand the business. This creates an incentive for the employees to work to make the business a success.

He then went on to say, that sadly, many investors in businesses only want to give a pittance to the employees in the business, and take as much as they can of the profit from the business for themselves. This business model's outcome are employees that have no interest in working to make the business a success because there is no incentive for them to have a stake in make the business a success.

The riches I gain come from having time to contemplate my navel about my relationship with the God that I worship and the people with whom I rub shoulders with on a daily basis. My riches come from having a Godly outwardly focus rather than an inwards focus of self centeredness.

This young entrepreneur was focused on making the people he employed successful in all that they did in their lives such that they have fulfilment in all aspects of living.

His richness came from being able to bless all of the people he rubbed shoulders with on a daily basis.

Shalom
 

amigo de christo

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Some folks would have tears if they saw my earthen riches .
But worry not for me . I have the true riches . JESUS HIMSELF . That is all a lamb does need .
Even in a cave with mere bread that lamb has far more riches than george sorros can ever know .
 
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marks

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One of my previous employers said to me, "We can't all be rich, but we can all be humble!" That, and, "If I'm so grand, why am I here?" That is to say, if I'm such a great asset to business, why am I at this little company?

Much love!
 
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amigo de christo

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For where your treasure is there shall your heart be also . JESUS IS THE TREASURE , Seated above on the right hand of the Father
and indwells the lambs by the SPIRIT . I tell us all , that truly HE alone is all we need . And in HIM alone one can have all the joy
and all the true hope ever needed . FOR HOPE in JESUS is a hope that cannot fade as do earthen riches . IT IS a HOPE that shall endure
no matter what we lose in this life and in this world . I dont know much , But by grace i know THAT .
 

2ndRateMind

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Another question, do we need rich people to keep the national economy going well?

No, this is a fallacy promoted by the rich as justification for social injustice.

Take a company capitalised to $1,000,000. Maybe one individual owns all the shares. Or maybe 1,000 people each own a stake of $1,000. Either way, it won't affect the day-to-day running of the company. It's just that the profits are distributed less or more equitably.

Best wishes, 2RM.
 
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